Alvin Gentry might be hearing from the NBA league office.
The New Orleans Pelicans head coach absolutely eviscerated referees Saturday for what he thought was poor officiating during his team’s 107-101 loss to the Houston Rockets. For the record: Both teams were called for 19 fouls in the game, although Houston did attempt six more free throws than New Orleans.
Watch Gentry’s postgame reaction in the video below:
Yikes.
Gentry’s anger largely stemmed from a play that occurred late in the fourth quarter, when Rockets guard James Harden was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. Upset with the call, which was made when the Rockets were leading by seven, Gentry eventually was handed a technical foul for arguing.
“All we want is an equal opportunity to win the game,” Gentry said, via ESPN’s Stefano Fusaro. “Not have a situation where we are guessing on the biggest play of the game, where they call a 3-point foul from the corner. All of you take a look at the play, and if you think that’s a foul, if anybody out here thinks it’s a foul, then you tell me, and I’ll shut up, and I won’t say one more thing. You take a look at the play and tell me what you think when a guy comes up and winks and says, I got him.”
Gentry wasn’t the only NBA head coach who lashed out against officials Saturday night, though. Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy also was livid after his team’s 100-87 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“(The Blazers) held and grabbed on every play and they got away with fouls all over the place,” Van Gundy said, via the Detroit News’ Rod Beard. “We got absolutely screwed all night.
” … A big part of (the Blazers’) defense — they play very hard; I don’t mean to take anything away from them. But when you can get away with playing like that and get screwed that badly by the officials, your defense is going to be pretty good.”
We’re not sure anything can be done between now and the end of the season to diffuse tensions between teams and officials. At some point during the offseason, however, the NBA would be well-served to get everyone together to clear the air and, hopefully, get on the same page.
